Overactive Scavenger Cells May Cause Neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's

(University of Zurich, June 29, 2017)

For the first time, researchers from the University of Zurich demonstrated a surprising effect of microglia, the scavenger cells of the brain: If these cells lack the TDP-43 protein, they not only remove Alzheimer’s plaques, but also synapses. This removal of synapses by the scavenger cells presumably leads to neurodegeneration observed in Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases.